Another H1N1 Blog

I'll be sooooo happy when the flu season is over.....

We are sending home the permission slips today for the free H1N1 shots that will be given on November 3rd at SCMS. In a nutshell for those that don't want to read the other 25 blogs that I've posted regarding the H1N1, the St. Clair County Health Department will be giving free H1N1 shots on November 3rd from 1:30(ish) to 8:00 at SCMS. From 1:30 until 4:00 it's only for SCMS students. After 4:00 it is open to the community (and it's still free). We need a permission form filled out (front and back) for your child to receive the shot. It is not mandatory that they get the shot and it is perfectly OK to wait until they get home and bring them back to school so you are there when they receive the shot. Students can bring the completed forms and turn them in to our office Monday or Tuesday. Knowing how kids are...I'm going to state the obvious....even though you sign the form, we can not and will not force a child to get the shot (I know, I know...that was obvious. But I do see situations where a student will get up to the front of the line and decide they don't want the shot). Any questions don't hesitate to give me a call.

More H1N1 Info

We have had a few parents call the school wanting to know if we have had any cases of the H1N1. In a nutshell, yes we have had a parent call to let us know that their child (one of our students), has the H1N1. It was bound to happen. Schools and kids getting the flu, despite all of our efforts, seem to go hand in hand. Here are some more facts:

The St. Clair County Health Department has advised local doctors not to test for H1N1 and is not distinguishing between strains of flu. The treatment for this type of flu is the same as any other flu.

If your child shows symptoms of the flu, which may include - sudden onset of illness, chills, headache, stuffy nose, feeling of weakness, fever higher than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and/or feeling really tired, he or she should stay home.

In addition, the Health Department recommends that those with a flu-like illness should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, (a fever is considered any temp over 99 degrees) without the use of fever-reducing medicines.

H1N1 Information

Without trying to add any worry or concern (and in some cases panic) concerning the current H1N1 situation, here is some information that everyone should be aware of. Without a doubt, regardless of all the preventative measures we take, SCMS will be hit by the H1N1 virus....just like we get hit by the flu every year. I don't want to make light of it, but I also don't want to over-react. It's a fine line that I walk. Here is some information that I recieved from the St. Clair County Health Department:

Current Recommendations:

Get a seasonal flu shot. Shots are available throughout the community and are our best method of protection against seasonal flu
Anyone in the H1N1 target groups (pregnant woman, children 6 months-24 years, caregivers of children under 6 months, health care workers and those 24-64 with underlying health conditions) should get vaccinated as soon as supplies become available.
Most people with flu like symptoms do NOT need to see their physician.
Make sure you have a thermometer, cold remedies and fever reducers on hand. Supplies can become limited in pharmacies during flu outbreaks
Stay informed by checking the websites listed below as well as local print and radio communications

Personal Protection Reminders:

Ÿ Wash hands often or use alcohol based hand sanitizer
Ÿ Cover coughs and sneezes with tissue or your sleeve
Ÿ Stay home when you are sick (24 hours after fever is gone)
Ÿ Avoid close contact with people who are sick
Ÿ Frequently clean commonly shared surfaces (door knobs, etc.)

Resources for more information:

www.stclaircounty.org/offices/health
www.cdc.gov/h1n1
www.michigan.gov/h1n1

For more information contact:

Susan Amato, Director of Health Education & Planning
810-987-5300 ext. 1510
samato@hd.stclaircounty.org

H1N1 Shots

We have received notice from the St. Clair County Health Department that they will be conducting a flu shot clinic at SCMS on November 3rd. Detailed information will be sent home with students later this week. Additional information may be found at SCC Health Dept website (http://www.stclaircounty.org/Offices/health/)

Monday's Thoughts

What a GREAT Sunday. The weather was great, got to get some stuff done around the house, mowed the grass for probably the next to the last time, went for a bike ride on the new bike path between Brown Street and SCMS and the Lions didn't lose. Coming off weekends like that, I always feel energized. When I get in one of these moods, I start making lists and setting goals. At the top of my list is to clean off my desk, get the Washington DC "stuff" organized for next year (more to come on that soon), start working out and to focus in on our No Zero policy. The way I see it, we have three very manageable chunks of time before the end of the semester. From now until Thanksgiving, from Thanksgiving until Winter Break and from Winter Break until the end of the semester (end of January). My goal is to get the kids to focus on each chunk of time as a short term goal and to break those short term goals into even shorter goals. Lets get every assignment completed and turned in on time this week. Very do-able. This is the time of year that I turn into a cheerleader. We can do it. When you have what seems like your 7 minutes of family time, talking about setting short term goals is a great conversation starter. Cleaning under their bed, picking up after themselves, helping to put away the lawn furniture and getting organized at school are all goals that will help shape them for the future. I know my wife wished the picking up after myself was stressed more when I was younger.....

MEAP is Done and We're Moving Forward

It's a sad day. MEAP is over (with the exception of a few make-ups). It's now time to refocus, roll up the sleeves and get to work. I'm a big believer in short term goals. The students are going to start to get a heavy dose of me talking about setting some short term goals. As everyone knows, we have a No-Zero policy. To talk to the kids about completing every assignment in every class every day until the end of the year would fall on deaf ears. But if we set a short term goal to have in every assignment until Parent Teacher Conferences (one month) that becomes very attainable. The message I'm going to try to send is that anyone can achieve anything if they break it into do-able parts. When I was training for my marathon, if I would of thought about running 26.2 miles I never would of made it. But I knew I could run one mile and that is what I focused on (short term goal). After that mile, I'd set another short term goal...and so on, and so on.... Any help at home in stressing short term goals will help in the long run (get it ... marathon .... long run...). Enjoy the Fall days...it won't be long until we're shoveling the driveway.

Weekly Laugh

I'm starting the think that things in my life are happening to me just so I'l have something to write about in my blog that will put a smile on people's faces. My weekend turned into a three stooges episode when I saw some water on our deck next to our hot tub. I thought it might just be run off from the cover but when I looked inside by the motor I found a slight drip. I tightened the connection and as luck would have it, it went from a drip to a flow. After draining the tub to take the connection apart, replacing the gasket and refilling the tub it starting leaking in two other locations. By this time I was two hours into this and it had become a challenge. After another hour, all the leaks had been fixed. I turned the tub back on and the fuse breaker tripped (over and over). After applying all of my electrical skills, which consisted of me sitting and staring at it (I also kicked the side of the motor), the breaker stilled tripped. For those keeping score...Hot Tub 1, Me 0

SCMS Band and Choir Concert

Last night was our first performance of the year and every year I'm amazed at what talented kids we have....but....what is truly amazing is when we listen to them perform in December how much improvement they've made and how good they sound. It is a tribute to all the hours of practice and the hard work (and patience) of our instructors, Mr. Decker and Ms. Zydek. We are very lucky to have them on our SCMS team. Great Job to everyone last night. If you missed it, put December 17th at the PAC on your calendar. Hope to see everyone there.

Boy's Basketball Tryouts

7th and 8th grade tryouts will be from 3:30 to 5:30 on Monday, November 9th, Wednesday, November 11th and Thursday, November 12th. Please, please, please make sure that all physical and permission slips are turned in prior to tryouts.

MEAP Update

Day one of the MEAP is behind us and I can take a slight breath. It went very smoothly, which from my standpoint is always my biggest worry. It's a tad of a tetris game to fit all the grade levels and parts into a testing window. A typical MEAP day will consist of all three grades taking a test that can have more than one part. The different grade level parts may or may not have the same "suggested" recommended time. The MEAP is not a timed test which adds to puzzle. Our two counselors, Vikki Patterson and Sandy Rutledge along with our building Teacher Consultant, Sue Schweihofer have put countless hours into organizing, sorting and arranging schedules to make this all work. Without them I'd be headed toward a nervous breakdown. With that said, all in all, the kids did great. Three more test days then we get to wait on the results to hopefully find out what we already know...that the students at SCMS are among the best in the state.

MEAP, MEAP, MEAP

Here we go...Tuesday, Thursday, Tuesday, Thursday....MEAP, MEAP, MEAP, MEAP. My favorite time of the year. Our biggest challenge on the MEAP is getting the kids to take their time and finish strong. We have almost zero flexibility on how the MEAP must be administered. The way the MEAP is set up (a large block of time) isn't the way our kids are used to taking tests. Getting them to remain focused and give their best effort toward the end of the test is the trick. We find ourselves slipping out of our educator gear and into our cheerleading outfits. Any and all help you can give us at home to stress the importance of these tests and doing their best is appreciated. Also.....part of the Math MEAP, which is on October 20th, allows students to use a calculator. If your child has a scientific calculator that they know how to use (believe it or not, different scientific calculators work differently) and could bring it to school for that portion of the test it would help us out (make sure it has your name on it).

Need a Laugh?

This weekend I took the soft top off my Jeep and put the hard top on. Monday on my way to Speedy Q to get my morning caffeine I couldn't open up the drivers door from the inside (???) I had to roll down the window, reach outside and open the door. I get to school, call the repair place down the road and they tell me to being it on over. I go out to drive it over and I can't unlock the drivers side or the passenger side door. If the soft top was on I'd just pop off one of the sides and hop in, but with the hard top, it's a tad tougher. So I swung the spare tire out that sits on the back, open up the hatch, look around to make sure no one was watching and climbed in through the back. Being 6'7" made it tough, being 6'7", 50 years old and with a shirt and tie made it a feat that an ordinary man would of given up on. I had legs and arms in all different directions. I honestly got to a point with my lack of flexibility that I didn't think I could get any farther in the Jeep and I couldn't move backwards to get out. A 51 year old never would of made it. Once in the drivers seat, and feeling pretty proud of myself, I realized that the back hatch was open and the spare tire was still swung out which makes it impossible to drive. I tried to open the doors from the inside to take care of it and neither door would open. At this time I started using a vocabulary that would of made my dad proud and forced the passenger door open. To make a long story short (too late) once I got the Jeep to the fix-it-guy, he tells me that the hard top put pressure on some plastic door lock piece on the inside of the door and they broke. The parts are on order and he's going to try to re-align the doors so it doesn't happen again. If anyone had a been driving by with a video camera and saw me, I'm sure I'd be a You-Tube legend by now.

Student Connect

Student Connect is just like Parent Connect but for students (hence the name). Over the next couple of days we'll be passing out instructions, student usernames and passwords last hour. Students are instructed to take the information home and that this was their personal information and that they shouldn't share it with other students. I was pleasantly surprised not to find any sheets lying on the ground in the hallways after school or out by the buses. We did have a few students for what ever reason did not have a username/password and we're working on getting that corrected. If you have any questions, as always, don't hesitate to contact me.

SCMS NJHS

I pride myself on communication but I've drop the ball with our National Junior Honor Society. The plan is to get the organization up and running right after the MEAP tests. Part of the reason for the delay is that we started school later and our plate has been a tad full with other items (Washington DC trip, Student Council, MEAP prep, etc....), that and the fact that last year's advisor, Ms. McComas, was transferred to another building. I'll be talking to the kids today to let them know that they haven't been forgotten and that the NJHS will be up and running soon. Sorry for the confusion.

Worse Sporting Weekend in the History of Mankind

Tigers lose 2 out of 3, the Lions lose, U of M lost (yes the Sparties won), Ohio State won, Notre Dame won, and the Saints lost their Homecoming game. It was a very depressing sports weekend.....but....like everything in life....there is always tomorrow. With that in mind, Tuesday the Tigers have a chance to escape being labeled as the biggest choke job in Major League Baseball history. We are going to make Tuesday, Tigers Day, and ask everyone to wear their Tiger wear (they can use as much help as we can give them).
Changing gears....we are in the middle of our Student Council Officer Elections. The students are campaigning and doing a short speech during our video announcements. The kids are doing an excellent job with the elections being this Friday. Good luck to all.

The problem with e-mail

For those of us that use e-mail constantly, you already know what I'm about to say...and more than likely this has happened to you. E-mail is a great, quick way to communicate...but...and here's the problem with e-mail.....it is so, so, so easy to read tone into an e-mail. When sending or receiving an e-mail to school (or anywhere else for that matter), you've got to fight the urge to read anything into the e-mail. E-mails are great but it will never replace talking to someone. I know when I get an e-mail that has words capitalized and bold, I always feel like the person is YELLING AT ME through the e-mail. I'm a fairly smart guy and usually don't skip words as I read so there is really no need to bold anything. If you are ever in doubt when you receive an e-mail, assume the best and pick up the phone to clear up any misunderstanding.
Life is good.....enjoy the wet weekend